For admission to the premaster, it is essential that the gap between the previous education and the master's specialisation can be bridged with a programme of no more than 60 EC.

Below you can find an overview of previous education programmes that can grant admission to the premaster, divided into 3 groups, containing programmes from Universities of Applied Sciences (HBO) as well as programmes from Research Universities (WO).

1. Previous education programmes that grant admission to the premaster programme:

• HBO Pedagogiek (in Dutch)
• HBO Toegepaste Psychologie, TP (in Dutch)
• WO Pedagogische Wetenschappen (in Dutch)
• WO Psychobiologie (in Dutch)

2. Previous education programmes that grant permission provided that Psychology forms a substantial part of it (minimum 30 EC, see admission requirement above):

• HBO in Social Work (in Dutch)
• WO Interdisciplinaire Sociale Wetenschap (in Dutch)
• WO Gezondheid en Maatschappij, WUR (in Dutch)
• WO Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics, PPLE
• WO from University College & WO Liberal Arts and Sciences (UU)
• WO bachelor’s degree with the Psychology minor: “Psychology: a comprehensive introduction” of 30 ECTS from Leiden University. Here, you can think of degrees such as WO Criminologie (in Dutch), WO Urban Studies, WO Science for Sustainable Societies en WO Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

3. Other previous education programmes

Please note that only programmes in a related field as the above-mentioned programmes from points 1 and 2 are eligible, provided that the admission requirement is met. Is this the case for your previous education programme? Then you can apply for the premaster programme and your admissibility will be assessed.

Is your previous education not related to the above-mentioned programmes? Then you are not eligible for the premaster programme.

Please note: Only students who have completed their bachelor degree at a Dutch institute of higher education are eligible for admission to Leiden's pre-master's programme in psychology. Students without a Dutch bachelor's degree or who have obtained a WO Bachelor in Psychology, cannot be admitted to Leiden’s pre-master’s programme in Psychology.

We advise students to rectify deficiencies in proficiency in English and/or mathematics before 1 May (A and B programme, see Pre-master's variants. All deficiencies must be rectified before the start of the programme.

Mathematics

Because the pre-master’s programme includes many modules based around methodology and techniques/statistics, students are required to have a basic level of competence in mathematics. Students on the Psychology course must be able to work at VWO (‘pre-university education’) level. If you do not have a VWO diploma but you do have a HAVO (‘higher general secondary education’) diploma with a transcript including a pass in mathematics (based on the average of school examinations and the central written examination), this is also sufficient. If you do not have either of these, you have a deficiency and we strongly advise you to take the course in mathematics offered by the Psychology department in the period from January to April.

Please note that the deadline for submitting an application for admission is 1 April. This means that you have to submit your application for admission before the course in mathematics is concluded.

Download

Brochure informatie wiskundecursus (in Dutch)

For questions, please contact: premasterpsychologie@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

English

Prospective students should have proof of thorough proficiency in English by means of one of the following tests:

• IELTS overall 6.5
• TOEFL (internet based) overall 90
• Cambridge English Exam CPE/CAE overall 180

For detailed information about which English qualifications are accepted, as well as the relevant exemption criteria, refer to English language proficiency.

The Board of Admissions decides which premaster programme is suitable for the prior knowledge you possess, when they assess your application. We have three available programmes:

• A programme (September intake). In addition to specific psychological knowledge, this programme emphasises statistics and psychological research methods. This programme is generally suitable for students with a Bachelor's degree obtained at a Dutch accredited HBO institution, or students with a WO Bachelor's degree obtained at a Dutch accredited WO institution unrelated to the Social Sciences.
• B programme (September intake). This programme assumes more advanced prior knowledge in statistics and research methods and emphasises specific psychological knowledge. This programme is generally suitable for students with a university bachelor's degree obtained from a Dutch accredited university related to Psychology and the Social Sciences.
• C programme (February 2028 intake). This is a shorter programme of one semester. Starting in February, this programme connects directly to the Master's intake in September. This programme is only suitable for students with a WO Bachelor's degree (obtained at a Dutch accredited university institution) closely related to Psychology, who can demonstrate experience with an empirical research project (thesis) involving substantial quantitative data and statistical analyses as part of the Bachelor's curriculum. These students must also be able to demonstrate more advanced prior knowledge in statistics and research methods. Here, you can think of for instance a background in Psychobiology (UvA).

Candidates with a HBO bachelor's degree obtained at a Dutch accredited HBO institution (see: previous education) have to pass the Academic Competences test.

The candidate will have two hours to study a scientific article written in English and to answer a number of open questions relating to this article. There is no possibility to resit the test (even in the following year). Candidates that hold a bachelor’s degree from a research university programme are exempt from the test. The test costs €100. Candidates who need to take the test will receive an invoice for this amount.

The date, time and location of the Academic Competences test will later be disclosed to the candidates.